Most Washoe County offices will be closed Monday, January 21, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, including Administrative offices, Social Services, Libraries, Courts, Attorney's Office, Washoe County Sheriff's Office, Regional Animal Services and Health District. The County Clerk at the Washoe County Complex on Ninth St. and Wells Ave., in Reno will remain open throughout the holiday from 8 a.m. to midnight for the issuance of marriage licenses, fictitious firm names and notary bond filings, as well as property tax payments for the Treasurer’s Office.

Community Services Department

MISSION

Sustaining your great quality of life: We are the go-to experts for the county's planning, infrastructure, and open space needs

The Community Services Department supports our community by making it safer, more economically viable and more environmentally sustainable. This provides a great quality of life for residents and supports an efficient and effective County Government.

As a department, we are here to serve. How can we help? Please choose a starting point below or contact us by phone at 775-328-3600.

Don't Spark a Fire Wildfire is Coming...Are you ready?

With summer temperatures at hand and the landscape extremely dry across Nevada, our fire danger is extreme across our country side. Use of tools that generate sparks, digging with earth moving equipment, dragging chains from trailers, tossing cigarette butts or parking in tall grass can start a fire.

With fire season upon us, Northern Nevada Fire Chiefs and Fire Prevention Officers offer the following:

• Do not use tools that alone or when in contact with other materials can generate sparks.

• When digging with heavy equipment or using small mowers or other equipment, do so when the humidity is high and wind speed is less than 5 mph. If you are able, pre-wet the area so that the moisture in the vegetation is higher.

• When towing, ensure that all chains are high and do not come in contact with the ground. Make sure that nothing is hanging beneath your vehicle and dragging on the pavement even when driving into ramped driveways.

• Don’t toss any type of ignition source on the ground or out the window of your vehicle.

• When parking along the roadway or any area for any period of time ensure that your vehicle does not come into contact with vegetation. Always park in areas intended for vehicle parking.

• Check tire pressure before you travel. Low air pressure in tires expose wheel rims so as to come in contact with the pavement and can cause sparks.

Besides the obvious danger to lives, property and the landscape, fires can change your life and the lives of others. Dry fuels equate to very high fire danger across the state. One spark is really all it can take to start a fast-moving wildfire.